Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Charles Henderson Middle School’s award-winning Junior BETA Club paid a visit to the Troy City Schools Board of Education at its monthly meeting on April 17 to request permission to attend a National BETA Club Convention this summer.

The board unanimously approved the request for the BETA Club to make the trip, which will be held in Louisville, Ky., on June 22-26.

At the Alabama State Junior BETA Convention, CHMS won and placed in a number of competitions. Among those places were Champion Book Battle, Champion Hand-Drawn Anime, Seventh Grade Science Champion, Champion On-Site Painting and four leadership awards. The BETA Club also earned second place finishes in creative writing, seventh grade math and performing arts dance, while taking third place in third grade social studies, wood working, color photography, marketing and communications and performing arts large group. CHMS also took fourth place in eighth grade social studies and spelling bee along with fifth place in robotics showcase. CHMS Junior BETA Club’s Brea Swindall was elected as State Vice President for Junior BETA. She will be running for National Vice President in Louisville, while a number of those students that placed at the state competition will also compete at the national competition.

The CHMS Junior BETA Club is currently fund-raising to help pay for the out-of-state trip, which will include a Boston Butt sale and a Spirit Night at Los Hermanos Restaurant. The Walnut Cookie Company in Troy already donated $500 to the trip.

The cost per student will be $803 if they are not able to get the charter bus paid for but if they are able to get that covered from donations and fundraisers, the cost will be $578 per student.

The board’s approval was to allow the BETA Club to take the out-of-state trip, not for the school system to fund it.

Also, the school board approved a request from the Charles Henderson High School Theatre Club to take an out-of-state trip to the International Thespian Festival on the campus of Indiana University from June 18-24. A total of four CHHS students placed at the Alabama State Theatre Festival in February to advance to the international competition.

The Theatre Club will be doing fundraising for their trip, as well, which will cost $7,244. The board approved the request for the trip but not to fund the trip.

In other business, the board approved a request from Troy City Schools Superintendent Cynthia Thomas to amend the Fiscal Year 2023 Budget to include income carry-over from the previous year and recent grants that have been awarded to the school. Also, the board approved a request to surplus two Ford vans for the transportation department and a John Deere 830 Tractor for Charles Henderson High FFA.

Troy-Pike Center of Technology (TPCT) Principal Jeremy Knox spoke to the board about recent STEM grants that TPCT received. Knox said that the school received a $200,000 grant for an augmented and holographic reality program that will allow for students to use it for dissections in science class along with other uses in science and math. Also, the school received a $50,000 grant for the CHHS Manufacturing Program to purchase a CNC Mill Trainer, which will allow the students to learn milling hands-on. The grants came from the Alabama State Department of Education.

The board also approved a number of personnel requests, which are listed below.

Resignations:

Artreca Thomas, registrar, Troy Elementary School (effective April 18);

Aundrea Poole McLendon, teacher, Troy Elementary School (effective May 26);

Lisa Fulford, librarian/art teacher, Charles Henderson Middle School (effective May 26);

Medical Leave:

Dr. Christie Armstrong, CNP/Special Education Program Director, Troy City Schools (effective April 17-June 2);

Employment:

Jennifer Jordan Helms, special education teacher, Charles Henderson Middle School (effective April 18, 2023);

Ashlyn Mabray, volunteer assistant cheer coach, Charles Henderson High School (effective April 18, 2023);

Dr. Joanna Taylor, temporary CNP/Special Education Program Director, Troy City Schools (effective April 10).